Guidance Please

Hi, I am 46 years old and currently exercise 5 days per week - 3 days I do a total bodyworkout with weights - 2 days cardio. Having built up some mass earlier this year, I have, for the past few months been trying to get leaner and thanks to some excellent advice from forum members have succeeded in doing so. My bodyfat% could be lower however.

I currently take a NO product prior to training and also take BSN Cellmass after training. Throughout the day, I take BCAAs, HOT-ROX Extreme and Flameout.

I would be grateful for any guidance as to whether I should continue with the above supplements or whether more or less is sufficient/necessary? I was recently advised by one ‘expert’ that creatine alone would suffice while another suggested adding more protein. What I am after is the best stack to keep me lean, energised and which will enable me to work out at a high intensity.

Many Thanks in anticipation.

A lot of people will bash on you for the NO Product but if you find it helps I’d suggest just sticking with it.

Regardless, have a look at Berardi’s dietary advice - seems to work well for a lot of people here (not that I’ve tried it first hand). Try the ‘Don’t Diet’ diet.

EDIT: Tired, missed second paragraph. Is cellmass creatine? if so you wouldn’t need any more though in future you could just grab some monohydrate. More protein is generally good, but make sure your diet is dialed in before getting too hung up on wonder-supps.

It seems as though you are just after general fitness and, as such, you are using plenty of supplements for that purpose (I am assuming you are getting your essential fats). I feel you may be looking for success in a bottle. The best advice I can give is to work on dialing in your caloric intake now.

I began monitoring my bodyfat via calipers on a weekly basis and it allowed me to dial in on exactly how many calories I could consume without adding appreciable fat. This will allow you to gradually gain lean mass while preserving the BF level you have achieved. Playing with your macro proportions (protein, carbs etc.) to see the effect on YOU is also a good idea.

Thanks for the responses. I am fairly well muscled so am after after a bit more than general fitness (e.g. bench max 250 for 5-6 reps) If being honest my diet is not the best in terms of consistency, primarily due to work schedule.
Nonetheless, I don’t want to be taking any supps that are not worth taking, rather would prefer to make sure that those I do take are most beneficial.

Thanks again

[quote]EugeneM wrote:
Hi, I am 46 years old and currently exercise 5 days per week - 3 days I do a total bodyworkout with weights - 2 days cardio. Having built up some mass earlier this year, I have, for the past few months been trying to get leaner and thanks to some excellent advice from forum members have succeeded in doing so. My bodyfat% could be lower however.[/quote]

So I take it you want to lose fat while retaining as much muscle as possible.

NO is a waste of money. Just say “no”, so to speak.
Pour a whey protein shake in a cup, add as much glucose as you think will not harm your goals of losing fat, and down that before training. This will be much better than NO.

It looks like BSN Cellmass is glutamine plus some fancy schmancy creatine ester. Here’s the deal: creatine monohydrate is all you need, and chances are the ester doesn’t actually work.
Stick to plain cheap creatine monohydrate, micronized if possible.

BCAAs are fine if your diet is OK (frequency of meals, calorie intake, protein intake, etc)

HOT-ROX is normal for someone with your goals.

Flameout is good in pretty much any case.

Experiment with PWO nutrition. What happens if you take something like Surge? Does it slow down your fat loss? (unlikely, but still a valid question)
I would drink at least a whey + glucose shake PWO, no matter what the goals. Play with the quantities and see what works.
PWO nutrition is crucial for muscle gains (or maintenance in your case).

Seems to me like HOT-ROX will keep you pretty energized.

But anyway, the diet will be far more important than any supplements. Make sure your diet is in good shape and everything will be fine.

Florin, thanks for your response, I really appreciate it. Have you any views on Beta-7 - as an alternative to Creatine?

[quote]EugeneM wrote:
Florin, thanks for your response, I really appreciate it. Have you any views on Beta-7 - as an alternative to Creatine?

[/quote]

Beta-7 works best with creatine.